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;)
The caller was bemoaning all the "hate" coming from the left. I'm not sure what planet this person was calling from. Certainly it was not earth.
Some erstwhile souls in a commendable attempt to be bi partisan will say that both sides do it. I have to disagree, both sides don't do it. The hate is coming from the right and it is getting uglier.
If the level of discourse in this country continues to decline at this rate, one can only imagine the rhetorical depravity that will accompany the 2012 campaign.
Look at where we are after only 9 months.
The photoshopped Air Force 1 picture emblazened with the racial slur is something I have linked to before. It is the most obvious example.
To further muddy the waters those of us who criticize this racism are accused of "playing the race card". It is now politically incorrect to condemn racial prejudice. Talk about progress. Well sorry to disappoint. The right talks about accusations of racism being used as a tool to shut down opposition. I think just the opposite is true. When people of good will ignore blatant bigotry out of partisan bias, that is what endangers genuine debate.
These people are entitled to their opinions about what is and is not considered racism. By similar measure, a woman is entitled to have the opinion that it really does not hurt all that much for a man to be kicked in the groin. The listener can determine the extent to which that woman is qualified to express that opinion.
My view of the matter is admittedly subjective. However I think that those of us who remember the days when our family had to plan a vacation based not on our budget and interests, but on which hotels would allow us to rent a room, may have a bit more insight into what is racism and what is not.
Latest Activity: Oct 16, 2009 at 11:34 AM
I don't think it gets much more obvious than this.
http://www.examiner.com/x-12767-US-He...
A billboard outside a Georgia restaurant is using the N-word to express dissatisfaction with President Obama’s healthcare plan.
The Peach Oyster Bar in Paulding County displays a sign that reads “Obama’s plan for health care – [N-word] rig it,” according to the New York Daily News.
Right wingers certainly are "sure" about lots of things that are simply not true.
Matthews' comment was stupid, spiteful, and yes hateful. The only thing that can be said in his defense is that his comment was directed towards a man who earns millions by making stupid, spiteful hateful comments every day. But as my grandmother taught me, two wrongs do not make a right.
You see, that is the key difference. I do not bend over backwards trying to justify spiteful, hateful behavior simply because I might otherwise agree with that person's opinions.
Nor do I attempt to evade the issue by pretending that criticizing spite and bigotry is somehow an attempt to stifle reasonable debate.
The right constantly claims that race plays no part in the criticism of the President. They argue that we want to stifle all criticism of the President by playing the "race card".
I posted those examples to demontrate that race most definitely plays a part. Why not open your right wing eyes, uncover your right wing ears and admit that at least for some people on the right, race is the issue.
While I don't agree with Matthwes's comment, I don't think it quite compares. It is just not a level field. Who cares if it is not even. It is just the way it is. When a black man, in a country with a black majority, with a history or slavery and prejudice and only 40 or so years of legal civil rights (in most states) for white people, says, "we should shove a c02 in that crac&*r's head," then it would be considered equal.
As for people voting for Obama because he was black, again, I view this as more than a color issue. If I said I would not vote for a man because he is Christian, I am showing prejudice, but don't people vote for candidates based on their religion all of the time?
It will be generations before the scars of segregation, slavery, and racism in this country heal. The playing field is still far from level. Yet, as a white male, I have no problem with this.
When I see the left using ethnic or racial slurs to protest policy, that is when I will agree that "both sides do it".
Chris Matthews made the mistake of stooping to Limbaugh's level. Limbaugh has been slinging mud for decades.
In any case, my initial point was that despite the strident denials from the right, some of the criticism of the President is based on race.
I point that out with SPECIFIC DOCUMENTED EXAMPLES. Doing so is not an attempt to shut down debate. It is an attempt to debate the issue honestly.
It is difficult to put into words how a community feels when an impossible dream comes true. The best I can do is an analogy. Jackie Robinson broke into major league baseball 5 years before I was born. I only know what I have read and what my family has told me.
I do remember a late uncle telling me about the time he was part of a busload of people who came up from Washington DC to Brooklyn just to see Jackie Robinson play. They were all fans of the old Washington Senators owned by the Griffith family, and they were American League fans at that. They had never been particularly interested in the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Did not stop them from traveling to Brooklyn to watch and cheer for Jackie Robinson. Personally, I do not think that qualifies as racism. I do not think pride in the accomplishment of the first African American President is racism either.
If you look at the numbers, Al Gore got 91% of the black vote. John Kerry got slightly more than 88%. I am skeptical that any significant segment of the population voted for either of those men simply because of race.
Given those numbers, if anyone voted for Obama simply because of race, the number of people who did so is miniscule. I would wager that those people are outnumbered by the voters who voted McCain simply because of race.
We should remember that in 2006 Michael Steele ran for senator in Maryland. Pro football Hall of Famer Lynn Swann ran for governor in Pennsylvania. Both men are black. Both men lost. Neither man carried the black vote in their state.
Proof positive that when it comes to elections, positions on the issues are what matters to African Americans, just like everybody else.
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